Reflection – Dr Nathan Leber

Wake Up!

St Paul tells us that it is time to awaken from our slumber, that the night is ending and the day is at hand. His message is actually quite simple and follows a fairly common theme for Paul – you are saved, so start acting like it!

So, as we began our waiting for Christmas, when Christ became incarnate in our lives, the Gospel turns our attention to the second coming and being prepared for the suddenness of that time – it is about being ready and prepared. God is about to turn things on its head again – he is bursting into our lives.

So, ask yourself, “If the Son of Man returned tomorrow morning and found our world and how we live in it, who would be left behind?” Would God recognise us as his people anymore? Have we forgotten the message of the incarnation? What are we really preparing for? Jesus’ words are the wake-up call to vigilance and preparation. He tells us not to wait to act, because then it may be too late. We may be one of the ones left behind. There is an old saying that “if you only pray when you’re in trouble, then you’re in trouble.” This is what Jesus is saying here – don’t let catastrophe be the only thing to wake you from a spiritual slumber.

When the angels spoke to the shepherds on that first Christmas morning they spoke of two things: one was for God, the other for us! “Glory to God in the highest and peace to people of goodwill.” It is peace we are offered, but how many of us are worthy of this goodwill?

Isaiah talks of a time when the implements of war are no longer needed, and the world can return to the welfare of society – to the fields and ‘the work of human hands’. Then the weapons of our destruction will be turned into the instruments of our salvation – through cultivation and a care for our world and all in it – we can return to being a part of God’s unfolding Creation and stop believe that we are apart from it. Then we will walk in the light as people worthy of goodwill. This is a vision of hope – peace in our day…and yet we must be able to dream it before we can live it – so, how can I do that?

Saint Paul tells us to arm ourselves against the darkness, battling in the armour of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Romans said, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” Yet Jesus’ words indicate we should not let strife be our motivator to seek peace and justice. Every mass we offer each other the ‘Sign of Peace’ – it has changed in recent times, but it remains a grand gesture of solidarity – a connection of the individual to the faith community which we all belong to.

We are called to be peacemakers. As Jesus said, “Happy are the peacemakers, they shall be called sons of God.” We are reminded that we should be peacemakers, not peace-wishers or peace-hopers or ever peace-pray-ers. As Pope Francis said, “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. This is how prayer works”- and this is how peace and justice work. Peace is not just an absence of war, but of any trouble or anxiety which our lives are subject to…and it is not enough for us to seek only our peace. We must seek it for all people of goodwill. Maybe then, the question I started with wouldn’t be so scary to us. Let’s prepare ourselves and be vigilant as we welcome the baby Jesus back into our lives this Advent. The night is ending, so what can you do in the light of the morning to make peace available to ALL people of goodwill?

Dr Nathan Leber